Type-writing machine.



G. A. GREENWOOD.

TYPE WRITING MACHINE.

APPLIGATION FILED APR. 25. 1911.

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HISATTEIRNEV G. A. GREENWOOD. TYPE WRITING MACHINE. APPLICATION FILED APR. 25, 1911.

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FMEATTBRNEY 45 Figure 1 is a top plan view of tlieiy'b GEORGE A. GREENWOOD, OF SPRINGFIELD, MASSACHUSETTS. ASSIGNOR TO REMINGTON TYPEWRI'IER COMPANY, OF ILION, NEW YORK, A CORPORATION OF NEW YORK.

TYPE-WRITING MACHINE.

certain classes ol mechanism for automat cally reversing the direction of ribbon feed. in the ordinary operation of such reversing mechanisms one of the spools becomes filled. with ribbon and the other one becomes nearly orentirely empty, and the empty spool causes devices to be thrown into operation to shift the drive from the full spool to the empty spool. The diiliculty referred to occurs when the ribbon is removed entirely from the machine either by unwinding it from bothspools or by removing the spools themselves from the machine. In such a case the reversing devices for both spools are liable to come into operation to act both ways at once, thus locking the mechanism against operation. In some instances the parts bind and tie the machine up in such a way that it is necessary to call in a skilled workman to restore it to operative condition. p

The purpose of the present invention is to prevent this lcckirgand tying up of the nuichine.

To the above ends my invention consists in certain features of construction and combination's and arrangements of parts which will be fully--set forth herein and particularly pointed oiit in the claims.

One form of my invention is illustrated -in the accompanying (l'lzUVllig-dll whichfeed mechanism of a Remington N the top plate of the machine being sectioned away. In this figure the ribbon spools are in this type of machine.

.39., typewriter, parts being shown in section and Specification 01" Letters Patent. Patented June 20, 1911 Application filed April 25, 1911:

Serial No. 623,202.

shown in place on their shafts but they are both empty and both reversing pins are in engagement with the reversing worms used Fig. 2 is an enlarged sectional view of certain devices mounted on the driving shaft. Fig.3 is a longitudinal section through one of the ribbon spools and its shaft and through the driving shaft, the spool being empty. Fig.

lis a similar section of the same spool but with ribbon wound thereon and with the associated parts shown in side elevation.

My invention is applicable or adaptable to various typewriters and other machines that use an ink ribbon, such, for example, as recording adding machines. it is here illustrated as applied to a Remington No. 10 typewriter, the ribbon mechanism of which one of those that is subject to the difiiculty above mentioned. The Remington No. 10 machine has a top plate from which depend certain brackets or hangers l which support the ribbon feed mechanism, these brackets being shown in horizontal section in Fig. 1. The machine frame also comprises a b acket 2 which supports a spring drum 3 having a strap 1 which impels the carriage in its travel toward the left. Said spring drum carries a pawl 5 which engages a ratchet wheel (3 mounted concentrically with the spring drum 3 and rigidly connected with a bevel gear 7, said ratchet wheel and gear being thus arranged to turn only when the carriage is moved toward the left. The gear 7 me hesavith a pinion 8 rigidly mounted on a sleeve 9 that is loose on a transverse ribbon driving shaft 10. The pinion 8 is situated between two ln-anches of one of the brackets 1 so that it does not move endwise of or with the shaft. The sleeve 9 carries a pin 11 having sliding connection with a collar 12, rigid on the shaft 10. Said shaft carries two bevel pinions l3 and l-t adapted to mesh respectively .with bevel gears 15 and 16 on the rear ends of ribbon spool shafts 17 and 18, said pinions constituting drivers adapted to be connected with their respective spools alternatively, the driving shaft being thus geared to one or the other of said spool shafts by shifting said driving shaft eudwise. Said shaft is located in either of its positions by means of a pivoted arm engaging in a groove in the shaft and carrying a roller that; meshes with a notched.spring-pressed plunger '21 mounted in a fixed bracket 22.

Each of the shafts 17 and 18 carries atits forward end a ribbon spool 23 which is detaclnibly secured to the forward end of the shaft by a thumb-screw it. The left-hand ribbon spool comprises two tlanges 25 and a drum 2t). and said drum and flanges are formed with registering cut-outs into which projects an arm 27 having a weight 23 that is normally held up by the coils of ribbon ao in the position shown in Fig. l. The arm 37 is pivoted at 31 to a collar on the spool shaft. and said arm is of the angled shape shown so as to engage the outwardly bent end of a wire or pin 32 that extends longitmlinallv through the center of the shaft and has its rear end adapted to be projected into engagement with a worm 33 lived to the driving shaft 10. This reversing pin It: is normall) held out of the worm by the ribbon as shown in Fig. '1 and when the ribbon is exhausted from the spool the weight 2H drops down as shown in Fig. 3 and projects the pin into the path of the worm. The right-hand spool shaft. '18 and the devices mounted thereon. are like those just described. \Yith the exception of the pinion it. the parts thus far referred to are of the ordinary Remington construction. The right-hand pin 32 is adapted to engage a worm 31 which is like the worm 33 but pitched in the opposite direction. In the ltemington machine as heretofm'e constructed where both worms are rigid on the shaft, if the ribbon is entirely removed. either by unwinding from both spools or by removing the spools themselves, both weights 28 are liable to be dropped down at once as indicated in- Fig. t. if the shaft 10 happens. as shown in said tigurc. to be in its left-hand position. the right-hand pin 32 will engage the right-hand worm and tend to pull the shaft 10 toward the right: but. the left-hand pin 33 will prevent. the shaft from sliding so that the two pins together will lock the driving shaft against turning and thus lock the spring drum also.

in practice it. has been found that the parts sometimes get wedged in so tightly that it is a matter of some ditliculty to get the pins out. of the worms and unlock the machine without breaking or otherwise injuring some of the parts. In order to cure this ditliculty l have modified the mechanism a t. one end of the shaft. It can be similarly modified at the other end, of course. but I deem itsutlicient to change one end. At the right-h and end of the shaft 10 l have shown the worm 3', instead of being rigid on the shaft 10. as made on a sleeve 35 that is loose on said shaft so that itcan slide endwise with relation to said shaft. In the present instance 1 have SllOWlllllt. right-hand pinion 11 as either integral with said sleeve-or rigidly mounted on it but this is not essential. A spring 36 is coiled about-the shaft 10 and compressed between. the outer end of the sleeve 35 anda collar 37 rigidly mount;- ed on the shaft. The motion ofthe sleeve 35 to the left under the impulse of this spring is limited by another collar 38 also rigidly mounted on the shaft- 10. Suitable means are provided for causing the pinion 1st, sleeve 35 and worm 3 1- normally to turn with the shaft 10. This can be accomplished in a variety of ways but in the present in stance it is brought about by a clutch which consists of a .tl'lGS of teeth 10 formed on the right-hand end of the collar 38 and a tooth ell projecting from the left-hand end of'the hub of the pinion 14.

The parts are normally in the position shown in Fig. 2 with the tooth ll engaging the teeth at) so that the shaft and the pinion are constrained to turn together. The ordinary operation of the mechanism is identical with that of the construction heretofore employed. \Vhcn the righthand spool isexhausted and its pin 32 engages the worm 34' the said worm is forced toward the right. The spring 36 is sufliciently stiff to cause the shaft 10 to be moved with the Worm so that in this operation the worm acts in every respect as if it were, rigid on the shaft as heretofore. In case, however, both pins 32 are projected at the same time so that the shaft is being pulled both ways at once the spring 36 is further compressed as shown in Fig. 1 until the teeth 11 is drawn out of engagement with the teeth l0. The shaft 10 is then free to turn without turning the worm 3 1. It is not essential that said shaft be thus free to turn independently of the worm, but it is of this advantage, that otherwise the-sleeve 35 would continue to move toward the right until it had run free of the pin 32. By the present construction it.

is not necessary to compress the spring 36 to such an extent as that. It will be seen that, with the yielding connection described, it is impossible for the machine to become locked up in the manner that has been hereinbefore referred to. As soon as the ribbon is wound on one of the spools or in case the spools have been removed, as soon as they have been replaced. one of them with ribbon'on it, the pin 32 is easily withdrawn from the worm and the sleeve is; automatically snapped back into normal position by the spring 36 and the mechanism is ready for operation as usual.

I have devised another form of mechanism for the same general purpose as the under normal conditions but to yield in case one above described. and which other form of mechanism is described and claimed in my pending application filed Mch. 25, 1911, Serial No. 16,910. In that form of my invention, however, when the loose worm has been moved out of its normal relation to the shaft it is necessary to restore it by hand. The present form of the invention is preferable to that, in the respect that means are here provided for automatically restoring the parts to normal relation so that the mechanism does not require any attention on the part of the operator.

The broad principle of the present invention is applicable to various styles of auto matic ribbon reversing mechanisms in which the ditliculty hereinbet'ore referred to is liable to manifest itself. I therefore do not wish to limit my broader claims to the precise details of the construction shown nor to the precise sort of automatic reverse here shown. The invention itself is capable of modification and it is also. capable of application to different styles of ribbon reversing mechanism.

\Vhat 1 claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is

1. In a machine of the class described, the combination of a pair of ribbon spools, two drivers, one for each spool, i'neans associated with each spool for automatically connecting the associated driver with said spool when said spool is empty, and connections for disconnecting the driver of the other spool, said connections including a spring adapted to yield in case both automatic connecting means are in operation at once, and to restore the parts automatically to normal relation when one or both of said automatic connecting means are thrown out of opera' tion. 1

In -a'machinc of the class described, the combination with automatically driven spools for a ribbon, a part shittable to change the drive from one spool to the other, and means for shitting said part automatically, of means including a spring for transmitting the shitting motion under normal condition, said spring arranged to yield in casethe automaticshittingmcansaro brought into operation to act both ways at once and to restore the parts to normal relation when said shifting means are thrown out of operation.

In a machine of the class described, the

said automatic shifting means are brought into operation to act both wa s at once and to resume its normal condition when said shitting means are thrown out of operation.

t. In a machine of 'the class described, the

combination of a pair of ribbon spools, two drivers, one foreach spool, means for operating both of said drivers, means for auto mat-ically shifting said drivers to connect them alternatively with their respective spools, a clutch connecting one of said drivers with said operating means, said clutch being disconnectible in case said automatic means is brought into operation to act both ways at once, and means for automatically restoring the clutch members to operative relation.

5. In a machine of the class described, the combination of a pair of ribbon spools, two drivers, one for each spool, means for operating both of said drivers, means for automatically shitting said drivers to connect them alternatively with their respective spools, a clutch connecting one of said drivers with said operating means, said clutch being disconnectible in case said automatic means is brought into operation to act both ways at once, and a spring for normally holding the clutch members in engagement and for restoring said clutch members to engagement when said automatic means are thrown out of operation.

6. In a machine of the class described, the combination of a pair of ribbon spools, a driving shaft for said ribbon spools, means for automatically gearing said driving shaft with said spools alternatively, and a part included in the connections between said shaft, one-of said spools arranged to yield in case said automatic means are brought into operation to act both ways at once, and means for automatically restoring saidyiclding part when the said automatic means are thrown out of operation.

7. in a machine of the class described, the combination of a pair of ribbon spools, two gears, one connected with each of said spools, a driving shaft for said spools having two pinions thereon, and said sha'l't being shiiitable to cause said pinions to engage said gears alternatively, two worms on said shaft, and means automatically brought into ongagement with said worms to shift the shaft to reverse the ribbon 'l'ced, one oi said worms being on a sleeve slidably mounted on the shaft, and a spring for holding said sleeve in and restoring it to normal relation with said shaft.

S. In a machine of the class described, the combination of a pair of ribbon spools, a drivin shaft shittable cndwisc to connect it with one or the other of said spools, a worm mounted on said shaft and slitlable III endwise of said shaft, means for engaging l Hampden, and State of Massachusetts, this said worm to shift the shaft, a spring press- 21st day of April, A. D. 1911.

ing' said worm endwise alon the shaft for the purpose specified, and niiians for limit- GEORGE GREENWOOD ing the motion of said worm along said shaft WVitnesseS: under the impulse of said spring. F. A. CUTTER,

Signed at Springfield, in the county of A. C. FAIRBANKS. 

